Tag Archives: xi3

After negative reaction to the price of the Xi3 Piston console recently revealed to fit the specifications of the upcoming “Steambox”. At first, reports suggested that Valve would not only be releasing their own machines (at lower prices) but would also support third-party attempts at the console/computer hybrid platform the Steam store and account library could support.

Those reports have now been called out by Valve themselves who says they have no part in the Piston console, dismissing it’s connection to the term “Steambox”. Xi3 is demanding recognition for the fact that Valve originally invested in the Piston console, and in fact are the ones who are responsible for its creation.

Valve’s response is essentially telling us that while they do experiment in upcoming technologies, and they did commission the Piston console to be developed, their own Steambox device is what they are currently focused on. They did not, however, denounce the fact that the device was built to support the Steam store and library accounts existing out there in customers “virtual wallets”.

Better take your time before deciding which Steambox is for you, seems Valve is backing out of deals with hard drive partners quicker than investors to the Phantom. We can’t say we blame Valve for wanting their own device, but they really should have cleared up the connection between Steam and the Piston console a lot sooner (or at least at all, we still aren’t sure exactly what’s going to happen as they haven’t said it won’t support Steam and instead just don’t want us calling it a ‘Steambox’ because those will cost a lot less apparently).

All eyes are on Valve now, who could deliver a large-scale entrance to the console industry if they have exclusive titles, reasonable entry price, and allow play of existing Steam library account titles already owned by their users. If they can’t meet those objectives with the Piston console, it’s only for the best that it be considered an experimental preview of what is possible with the Micro-PC / Gaming Console hybrid model.

Editor’s Note: RealGamerNewZ has moved web servers, some older posts can no longer be commented on and have been preserved without their images. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. This article was written by Jon Ireson on 20130313 and was last modified on 20130313 .